Paul Sakuma / APA customer orders a meal at a drive-thru at a McDonald's restaurant in Palo Alto, Calif.,

Syracuse, NY -- We've had a run-through on drive-thrus here on the blog in the past. Some of you have been amazed at the idling time people will put up with to get a cup of coffee or a burger. Others of you have said drive-thrus have been lifesavers, especially for moms and dads with young kids. You can get the food without unbuckling the gang and herding them into the restaurant.

Now comes talk that some cities are taking a closer look at drive-thrus for their contribution, good or bad, to the environment. Read on...

From QSR Magazine:

Cities across the U.S. and Canada are considering roadblocks for drive-thrus

A speedy drive-thru is essential for quick-serves but nowhere more so than in Toronto, where a long wait in line could get customers slapped with a $125 fine.

The city's anti-idling bylaw, on the books since 1998, prohibits vehicles from remaining stationary with engines running for more than three minutes in any 60 minute period. With average wait times for drive-thrus clocking in at just more than three minutes, according to the 2007 Quick-Service Drive-Thru Performance Study, that could render a morning stop for coffee a punishable offense.

Toronto's bylaw isn't the only one of its kind. Cities across the continent have passed or are discussing measures that could affect how business is done in fast food's fast lane. At least 23 municipalities in Canada have adopted, proposed, or are considering anti-idling laws or other restrictions that could affect drive-thrus, and cities across the U.S. are also jumping on board.

The reasons behind such measures vary among municipalities, but many cite a growing body of evidence alleging that drive-thrus are bad for the environment.

A recent study conducted by students at Canada's University of Alberta predicted that the cars idling in drive-thrus at 135 restaurants in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, produced almost 25 tons of greenhouse-gas emissions per day. Over the course of a year, that could amount to more than 9,000 tons of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

While the study says that number amounts to only about 0.05 percent of the city's total yearly greenhouse-gas emissions, Peter Boxall, the University of Alberta environmental economics professor whose class conducted the study, says it adds up.

"It's fairly significant," Boxall says of the emissions from cars in drive-thru lanes. "And we're not factoring in the cost of congestion or other traffic-related issues that come about as a result."

There are other concerns, too. Toronto's anti-idling bylaw was proposed by the city's Board of Health in hopes of cutting down on health problems caused by air pollution. In 2007, Toronto Public Health estimated that traffic-related air pollution was responsible for 440 premature deaths and 1,700 hospitalizations -- to the tune of $2.2 billion per year. Recently, the board of health recommended an even stricter regulation that would prohibit cars from idling more than 10 seconds an hour.

Vince Loffredi, a supervisor with Toronto Transportation Services, says there have been no recorded complaints made against cars waiting in drive-thru lanes under the three-minute idling limit, but that would likely change if the 10 second rule is adopted.

"What it might mean is that if you're in a drive-thru, you're going to have to shut your car off," Loffredi says. "People might have to change the way they queue at the drive-thru."

Other measures being discussed, however, would not be so lax. As concern grows about the environmental impact of drive-thrus, some cities are trying to make it harder to get permits to build the lanes, while others are talking about prohibiting the building of new ones entirely.

One such city was London, Ontario, where a group of citizens, led mostly by local high-school students, was pushing the city's planning commission to pass a moratorium on construction of new drive-thru projects.

This backlash on drive-thrus was news to me. Like the big environmental issue facing the supermarket industry -- plastic bags -- it will be interesting to watch how this plays out for the fast-food industry.

On to...

You:

* mrrochester comments, "With regard to Ruby Tuesday, Rochester was down to only three locations as of a week ago. This week, the Perinton location closed, now we have only two. Which I'm OK with; Ruby Tuesday is horrid.''

* skantownlake comments, "There was talk a while back of opening a Ruby Tuesday within 7 miles of the Skaneateles village limits. Thank God that didn't happen. Not only would it go against our policy of chain restaurants in our town, it would also expose us to the economic downturn. I am fine with driving all the way to Syracuse and eating there after I shop (except in the winter...haha)"

Ruby Tuesday has enough on its plate to deal with. It's unlikely Skaneateles is on its radar. Did I just mix too many metaphors?

* batman697 comments, "Hmmm, I didn't realize the e-mail newsletter had different stuff. How much is 'new'? I was under the impression it was full of news items copied from the paper and blog."

I try to add at least one new story and update some of the comments. I also have briefs about some upcoming retail news that will be breaking in Store Front in The P-S, plus links to photos, video and other Web sites.

* exg2 comments, "I tire of comments and info appearing in different places. I am trying the newsletter again to see what is going on, and I found out. Why make this so complicated, Bob? Pics can go directly into the blog. We don't need movies, we don't need Twitter, or any of that stuff. I don't even favor that 'more' to see the rest of an article, or comments. We are not lazy out here. Just write the blog when you have some input and some info, and stick with that."

* CNYhottie327 comments, "Hi Bob -- I do agree with exg2 and do like to keep informed -- with that being said, I believe that you do a fine job.... When is Cici Pizza coming here? Also, what is being built on Onondaga Boulevard across from the Limp Lizard? Thanks..."

Thanks to both of you. So much is changing in the delivery of news and information. We're trying many, many different things. We're keeping some, discarding others. It's a lot of work and I ask for your patience. I know your time is limited, too. Please don't kill the messenger and since I'm the messenger, I don't, uh, want to be killed.

CNYhottie327'a comment speaks to some of what I'm doing by carrying items (or repeating them) from one medium to the next. I have already reported on CiCi's before (reminder: Don't expect it here anytime soon) and the building across from Limpy's -- it's going to be a dentist's office.

On to...

* The next edition of the free Store Front e-Newsletter rolls out the e-door on Wednesday, heading to all Friends of Store Front. Become a Friend. Click here, send the e-mail, wait for an e-mail reply, ship that back and you're on the list. You'll get next week's issue.